Regional versions show whole nation likes KBC

MUMBAI: The success of 'KaunBanegaCrorepati', largely attributed to AmitabhBachchan's hosting skills, has spawned a number of regional versions of the game show in the last couple of years.

They are doing pretty well too, with season two of Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam versions of the popular game show going on air this month. When Marathi version, 'Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati', goes on air on ETV Marathi this summer, India will become the only country where versions of 'Who wants to be a millionaire?' would be running in seven languages.

"The regional foray has been very successful and also profitable for the broadcasters," says Siddharth Basu, renowned quizmaster and CMD of Big Synergy that produces the 'millionaire' shows. Indranil Chakraborty, COO of Big Synergy, adds that in most places the show has taken the broadcaster straight to the top slot in viewership, whether it is Suvarna, which beat Sun to numero uno spot in Karnataka, or Asianet, which clocked in unheard of ratings like 16-17 for its Malayalam version.

The producers have roped in top regional actors to host the show. What is different for ETV Marathi's Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati is that the production standards are going to be the closest to the Hindi version, which means, the spend is going to be substantially higher than most regional players.

Amit Phalke, non-fiction head at ETV Marathi, says, "We see this show as a game changer for us and so we are raising the bar, I would say it's the big bang icing on the cake in terms of the changes we are bringing into the channel as a whole."

Phalke is confident of high return on investments with banding options available. He, however, would not share the cost of the show. According to rough calculations, ETV Marathi will be spending 20-25 crore on this show.

Big Synergy's Basu, best known as host of shows starting with 'Quiz Time' on Doordarshan in the 1980s, too is upbeat about the Marathi version of KBC. "This version, 'Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati', comes to a region culturally rich with its own history and highly developed literature, and people thirsting to prove themselves," he said.